A Friend in Need…
By: Tezza1502
Disclaimer: I don't own 'Love Hina'. Ken Akamatsu does. Heck, even this idea has been done ad nauseam. I just wanna put my own spin on it.
Notes: HOW MANY REVIEWS? For just one chapter! Wow, you guys and dolls are spoiling me something fierce, you know that! Pity I may be about to undo all that good will. This chapter will be mostly a diary entry, set a couple of months after the first chapter. Anyway, let's get on with it…
CHAPTER 2: Progress
A new day starts at Hinata-Sou, pretty much the same as any other weekday.
Motoko goes through her early morning Kata's on the roof while the rest of the residents slumber. Su ambushes Keitaro with a foot to the face as he emerges from his room. Seeing that he is distracted while picking the young foreigners toenails out of his teeth, Sarah gives him a kick to the ankle as he heads down the stairs for breakfast, causing him to stumble into Naru. Even though he only grabs her by the arms to stop himself falling over, she still punches him the rest of the way down the stairs into the common room. Shinobu helps him to his feet, blushing furiously the whole time. Keitaro thanks her over his shoulder as he quickly makes his way to the dining doom before anyone else decides that he needs another impromptu lesson in manners before breakfast.
Breakfast is quickly but efficiently consumed before the younger residents head out for school. Keitaro washes and dries the dishes, receiving a clip over the ear from Naru for taking too long and making them late as she drags him down the outside stairs by the hand to catch their bus to cram school.
Such is the rush to feed and run that none of them notices that their resident wit and troublemaker, Kitsune, has not uttered a single word. She has deliberately stayed quiet and unnoticed the entire time. If any of them had paid closer attention, they would have noticed that her eyes never seemed to stray far from Keitaro's face. They would have also seen that her expression switched between a soft smile and a pensive look, as if she was trying to come to a decision about something within herself.
With the Inn finally empty for the rest of the day, she breathed a sigh of relief and headed up to her room. Thanking her lucky stars that once again no-one had noticed her out-of-character behaviour, she decided to vent what had been troubling her lately by writing it down. Reaching for a bottle of sake from the shelf in her room, she put it on the small table before shifting a few others aside. Giving the board behind the bottles a sharp knock, a panel fell out, revealing a hidden space occupied mostly by a leather bound journal. Removing it, she sat down at the table and opened it to an empty page. Deciding not to pour herself a cup of sake just yet so as to keep her head clear while she writes, she orders her thoughts before putting pen to paper.
From the diary of Mitsune Konno:-
Hey there, O secret pages of my thoughts, it's been a while. A little over two months, if I remember correctly. Lotsa stuff happening. Yup, I've been busy. Unfortunately, not that kind of busy. I've been helping Kei-kun, of all people! 'Why?' you ask.
…mostly for the challenge.
Lemme explain.
A couple of months ago, I saw him come back from one of his impromptu flights across our fair city and, thinking it was a golden opportunity to screw my dear Kanrinin (NO, not like that!)(Well, maybe. If he asked REAL nicely.) for a weeks rent, or two, I followed him back to his room for a little one-on-one negotiation. (Oh my, they are flowing thick and fast tonight, aren't they!) I had just begun my opening presentation, when he blind-sided me. Completely.
I was expecting fogged-up glasses, maybe a nosebleed, and eventually a stuttering capitulation. You know, the usual routine. What I got was him getting into it for a moment and then freaking out! I could almost TASTE the fear pouring off the guy. As I calmed him down from complete hysteria to just scared shitless, I realised something: he's hurting. Not just in a physical sense, but deep down inside. As I looked at him curled up in a ball in the corner of the room waiting for some rough justice, I actually felt ashamed of myself for playing a part in doing this to him. In driving another human being into this state of perpetual terror.
I finally got him talking to me by telling him I was his friend. I surprised myself by MEANING it as I said it. Once again, he snuck in from left field by admitting he enjoys it when I touch him. He knows I only do it to get something from him, but he doesn't mind because it's the only time he makes physical contact with a woman that doesn't involve a beating.
On impulse, I gave him a real hug. It felt…nice, to have someone in my arms again. Even if he was petrified with shock for most of it.
As to what I did next, well…
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
I kinda offered to be a better friend than I have been. An 'oasis from the madness', I believe was the phrase I used. Basically, I offered him a safe harbour if things got too much around Hinata-Sou. Still not sure why my heart fluttered like that when he accepted my offer. Lack of sake in my stomach is the only explanation. Anyway, as I was walking out the door, guess who showed up. Yup, the pervert patrol. They took one look at Kei and saw red! Not wanting to spoil the good vibe I had just established, I stepped in to head them off. I guess I also wanted to start paying off some of the karma I owed Keitaro. So I told them both that nothing had happened other than a conversation. I figured that they have taken my word without question before, why not now.
While I should have factored in the level of animosity those two hold against Kei, dismissing what I was saying completely really hurt. No, it more than hurt. It PISSED ME RIGHT OFF!!!!
Back again. It still boils my blood to think that my best friend would ignore-
No. Not gonna go there again. Suffice to say, I'm still somewhat annoyed. Anyway, after shameing them into backing off, I re-affirmed what I had said to Kei and went back to my room to get ready for dinner. I spent the rest of the night giving those two the cold shoulder.
That night, I started figuring out ways to make Keitaro's life that much easier around Hinata-Sou. First off was threat assessment. I immediately decided that he was on his own when it comes to Kaolla Su. Since he came along, the rest of us have stopped having nightmares about turning blind corners and finding a mecha-tama with accompanying arsenal eyeing us off. He's got that whole 'invulnerability' thing going for him. The rest of us don't! So Kei was going to have to continue taking one for the team there.
Next was myself. Yeah, me. I resolved to not deceive him when he asks whether the hot springs are empty, or blackmail him, or trick him into feeling me up in front of the others, or any of the hundred other schemes and plots I've dragged him into. That should go a long way towards pulling his airtime down.
…
(I've just realised how much trouble I have been involved in causing, in one form or another. I may cry. The guy's a saint for not kicking the lot of us out AGES ago.)
Motoko is reasonable, in her own warped fashion. Drag her precious honour into the conversation the right way, and she folds like a wet towel.
Naru will be the toughest to deal with, because A: the clueless twit is hopelessly in love with her and B: she knows it and uses it. I can't separate them. I can't badmouth my best friend behind her back, even if I wanted to. She has proven that she will ignore me if what I'm saying doesn't fit with her preconceived notions. The most I can do is not encourage her attitude when she barges into my room to talk my ear off for half a night about what a pervert he is.
Short of hooking her up to some kind of perpetual blood transfusion machine with accompanying stimulant injector, I can't do much about Mutsumi collapsing at random times. Even if she always manages to drag Kei down with her. Convenient much!
Despite her cute little crush on him, Shinobu is not a problem. Kei's natural clumsiness is. Which led me to my parallel project: getting him to stop being beaten for falling ass-over-tit so much. This was not easy!
I began by telling him that if he's going to fall over, JUST FALL OVER! At worst, he will be laughed at for being a klutz. The beatings he gets from grabbing something he shouldn't on his way down have GOT to be worse than kissing the ground every now and again. Next, if he just has to grab someone, aim for the arms, between the elbow and shoulder. Or the lower back. NO BREASTS! NO BUTT! Last of all, if the worst happens, and he lands somewhere inappropriate, STAND UP IMMEADIATELY! No taking a moment to get your bearings. No sitting there like a statue, staring at the person you landed on endlessly. Stand up and run. If you must apologise, do it over your shoulder. Or come back and say it after they have had a chance to calm down. It won't work all the time, or indeed at all with certain people. But if they see that you aren't moving, and perchance enjoying the situation, you will be beaten.
As I'm writing this, I realise that I'm making it all sound very easy. Like he came in for a quiet chat one day and we had this nice deep and meaningful conversation about this and that.
Like Hell!!!!It took him five days to ask if he could come in for a bit, the first time. Another three visits passed before he unwound enough to do more than stay in the opposite corner of the room from me. Slowly, gradually, I have built up a level of trust with him. I was so happy the first time I got an honest laugh out of him. Heh. Lately, he's even been flirting back at me a little when I fire an innuendo across his bow! Progress is being made. And it's showing, too. He's not so tense when he has to deal with the others. The worry-lines are disappearing from the corners of his eyes. I mean, he still gets sent skyward. That hasn't stopped. But, instead of it happening two or three times a day, it's slowly dropped down to once every couple of days.
And he smiles more. Not those fake ones he wore, but honest ones that reach all the way to his eyes. Makes me feel all warm and tingly, knowing I had a big part in putting them there.
Why am I doing this? Good question. Mostly for the sheer challenge of it. I mean, getting him into trouble is easier than getting money out of him. Keeping him out of it is a real test of my abilities. The other reasons, well…
I'll let you know when I figure them out.
'till next time. Kitsune out!
Kitsune looked at what she had written for a moment before sighing and returning her journal to its hiding place behind her sake rack. As she closed the secret compartment and replaced the bottles in their proper positions, she sighed again lightly and shook her head. Pulling a bottle back out, she opened it and poured herself a cup. Downing the first one immediately she poured another and sipped it slowly while staring contemplatively at the wall separating hers and Keitaro's rooms.
"I hope I know what the hell I'm doing here."
Coming out of her daze, she began choosing her outfit for the night out she was hoping to talk Keitaro into.
Notes: next chapter should be up in a week. I am trying to keep a few chapters ahead, so updating will be reasonably regular. And I know that this feels like a recap, but I wanted Kitsune's thoughts on the whole situation to be aired. Sorry if it disappoints.
Next chapter: Pub crawl! T
